Plaintiff Mark Steele, who worked for Assurance IQ as an insurance sales agent from July 2023 to April 2024, filed the federal suit on June 24, 2025. His amended complaint alleges that he and other putative class members were misclassified as independent contractors and asserts claims under the California Labor Code, the federal and California WARN Acts, and the California Business and Professions Code. The proposed class covers California-based sales agents classified as independent contractors on or before April 30, 2024, whose relationships with the defendants were terminated as part of a mass layoff or plant closing involving Assurance IQ on or about that date.
The stay turns on a parallel state court action, Chung v. Assurance IQ, LLC, Case No. 34-2023-00337274, pending in Sacramento County Superior Court. That case, originally filed in San Diego Superior Court on April 3, 2023, involves the same core misclassification theory and a broader class definition — all California insurance agents classified as independent contractors from October 30, 2020 through the date notice is sent. On January 16, 2026, the Chung parties filed a notice of settlement indicating the action had been settled on a class and representative basis, that the parties had fully executed a longform settlement agreement, and that the plaintiff anticipated filing a motion for preliminary approval with the state court within the next seven to fourteen days.
Defendants Assurance IQ and Prudential moved on November 13, 2025 to stay the federal action under Landis v. North American Co., 299 U.S. 248 (1936), or in the alternative to dismiss. Judge Robert S. Huie granted the motion in part, holding that all three Landis factors favored a limited stay. On the orderly-course-of-justice factor, the court noted that the federal action is in its initial stages while Chung has been pending for over two years and has reached a proposed settlement that could simplify, narrow, or entirely resolve the federal claims. On hardship, the court held that requiring defendants to litigate two overlapping class actions simultaneously — one already at the settlement stage — would impose unnecessary burden. On potential damage to the plaintiff, the court held that his concerns about discovery delay and fading witness memories were speculative.
The court declined to stay the case until Chung is fully resolved, as defendants requested, and instead imposed a time-bound stay. The action is stayed until the earlier of a grant or denial of a motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement in Chung, or six months from January 27, 2026. The parties must file a joint status report within seven days of whichever event occurs first, and in any event no later than April 27, 2026.
The amended complaint alleges that Assurance IQ employed approximately 1,700 insurance sales agents nationwide, including several hundred in California, all of whom were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors. Based on the current class definitions, Steele is a member of the putative Chung class, and the federal putative class is a subset of the Chung class.